V: Young People advise MPs to get down with the digital generation

Friday, 1 July 2011 2:19 PM

London - 1 July 2011: The ‘yoof’ of today… love or loathe them, but whatever you do please don’t ignore them. That’s the message from Young People & The Big Society, a report launched today by v, The National Young Volunteers’ Service. The report, which follows a five month youth consultation process sees young people advising MPs to hold virtual MP surgeries and use social media to listen and engage with constituents.

The online platform, Big Society’s Big Mouth (www.bigsocietysbigmouth.org), was set up in response to research which found that young people felt frustrated about their lack of influence over the government. The digital project challenged young adults (16 – 25), from all backgrounds, to discuss the problems they faced in their local communities, connect with politicians and offer recommendations on how to take real action.

The national campaign was supported by a number of high profile guests including leading think tanks, politicians, local councillors, entrepreneurs and youth activists.

Young people outlined a five point plan for politicians in their ‘Rules of Engagement’ to help key influencers reach out to the next generation of online activists:
1. Hold a virtual clinic and speak to your constituents online. Webinars or tweetchats make it easy for younger constituents to share their views, opinions and ideas.

2. The art of conversation: Social media tools allow politicians to not only broadcast a message, but also to start real conversations and listen to people’s views and concerns.

3. There’s an app for that: NESTA has launched an App to help MPs keep their constituents up to date. Visit http://www.my-mp.org.uk/

4. Become a leader online: Twitter is a great platform for campaigning and sharing knowledge. MPs can register on Tweetminster (http://tweetminster.co.uk) to share and discuss the most important news of the day as rated by politicians, civil servants, activists, academics, business analysts and journalists.

5. Buddy-up: For politicians new to social media, why not invite a digitally savvy young person to help with your digital engagement strategy? You can advertise your volunteering opportunities for free at www.vinspired.com

In her foreword to the report, Stella Creasy Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs, commented:

‘Ensuring the participation of young people in debate and decision making is vital to the future of our democracy. Their involvement in public life is key to ensuring our services and our society benefits from the contribution they can make. Yet although this report illustrates this input, it is a role that has been in decline for some time… Overcoming this requires frank and honest discussions not just about but with our younger constituents about the ways of working we can use to reverse this trend.’

Since its launch the Big Mouth site has attracted over 13,000 visitors and the most popular discussion topics have been: Big Society, education, climate change, politics, unemployment, internships, apprenticeships, public sector cuts and the voting age.

To read the full report visit: http://www.bigsocietysbigmouth.org/pages/9

To find out more information about the campaign and to join the Big Society’s Big Mouth debate, please visit www.bigsocietysbigmouth.org

----- ENDS ------

For more information please contact:

Emma Koubayssi – emma.koubayssi@diffusionpr.com on 020 7025 1505

Tags:
• policy proposals
,
• young people